Visionlearning: The Process of Science

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published by the Visionlearning
supported by the National Science Foundation

This classroom-tested instructional unit was developed to build interest and excitement about the practice of science by real people in real laboratories. It takes learners on a journey to understand how a good experiment is designed, how to recognize bias and error, how to perform an investigation into the natural world, and how to clearly communicate about the findings. It is divided into 15 sections, many of which can be parsed out separately. Topics include scientific ethics, funding for science, research methods, data analysis/interpretation, statistics, error and uncertainty, the peer review process, and understanding scientific articles.

https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/Th...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Research Design & Methodology Education Practices - Active Learning = Inquiry Learning = Modeling General Physics - Collections Mathematical Tools - Statistics	- High School - Middle School - Lower Undergraduate	- Collection - Instructional Material = Activity = Tutorial = Unit of Instruction - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set

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Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2000 visionlearning.com, 2000, http://www.visionlearning.com/docs/terms.php#copyright
Keywords:: classroom-tested, error, evidence-based lessons, evidence-based resources, experiment, experimental design, research methodology, science modules, scientific method, scientific process, uncertainty, validity
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created September 30, 2010 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: July 25, 2015 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: September 26, 2010
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1A. The Scientific Worldview

6-8: 1A/M2. Scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information challenges prevailing theories and as a new theory leads to looking at old observations in a new way.
6-8: 1A/M3. Some scientific knowledge is very old and yet is still applicable today.

1B. Scientific Inquiry

3-5: 1B/E1. Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.
3-5: 1B/E4. Scientists do not pay much attention to claims about how something they know about works unless the claims are backed up with evidence that can be confirmed, along with a logical argument.
9-12: 1B/H1. Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena, to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare theories.
9-12: 1B/H2. Hypotheses are widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention to and what additional data to seek, and for guiding the interpretation of the data (both new and previously available).

1C. The Scientific Enterprise

3-5: 1C/E1. Science is an adventure that people everywhere can take part in, as they have for many centuries.
3-5: 1C/E2. Clear communication is an essential part of doing science. It enables scientists to inform others about their work, expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and stay informed about scientific discoveries around the world.
6-8: 1C/M1. Important contributions to the advancement of science, mathematics, and technology have been made by different kinds of people, in different cultures, at different times.
6-8: 1C/M7. Accurate record-keeping, openness, and replication are essential for maintaining an investigator's credibility with other scientists and society.
9-12: 1C/H1. The early Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Hindu, and Arabic cultures are responsible for many scientific and mathematical ideas and technological inventions. Modern science is based on traditions of thought that came together in Europe about 500 years ago. People from all cultures now contribute to that tradition.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

1. THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

B. Scientific Inquiry

1B (6-8) #1. Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they go about their work. Although there is no fixed set of steps that all scientists follow, scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected evidence.
1B (6-8) #2. If more than one variable changes at the same time in an experiment, the outcome of the experiment may not be clearly attributable to any one of the variables. It may not always be possible to prevent outside variables from influencing the outcome of an investigation (or even to identify all of the variables), but collaboration among investigators can often lead to research designs that are able to deal with such situations.
1B (6-8) #3. What people expect to observe often affects what they actually do observe. Strong beliefs about what should happen in particular circumstances can prevent them from detecting other results. Scientists know about this danger to objectivity and take steps to try and avoid it when designing investigations and examining data. One safeguard is to have different investigators conduct independent studies of the same questions.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10356">National Science Foundation. Visionlearning: The Process of Science. Visionlearning, September 26, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

(Visionlearning, 2000), WWW Document, (https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176).

AJP/PRST-PER

Visionlearning: The Process of Science (Visionlearning, 2000), <https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176>.

APA Format

Visionlearning: The Process of Science. (2010, September 26). Retrieved May 1, 2024, from Visionlearning: https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176

Chicago Format

National Science Foundation. Visionlearning: The Process of Science. Visionlearning, September 26, 2010. https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176 (accessed 1 May 2024).

MLA Format

Visionlearning: The Process of Science. Visionlearning, 2000. 26 Sep. 2010. National Science Foundation. 1 May 2024 <https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {Visionlearning: The Process of Science}, Publisher = {Visionlearning}, Volume = {2024}, Number = {1 May 2024}, Month = {September 26, 2010}, Year = {2000} }

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%T Visionlearning: The Process of Science %D September 26, 2010 %I Visionlearning %U https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176 %O text/html

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%0 Electronic Source %D September 26, 2010 %T Visionlearning: The Process of Science %I Visionlearning %V 2024 %N 1 May 2024 %8 September 26, 2010 %9 text/html %U https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/The-Process-of-Science/176

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